INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
Rohde & Schwarz (Munich, Germany) has expanded its R&S BBA150 broadband amplifier family with the D series to cover the frequency range from 690 MHz to 3.2 GHz and power levels up to 800 W. Both frequency...
INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd. (Chesham, UK) announced that it has integrated Xilinx’s new SDSoC development environment on to its EMC2-Z7030 single board computer (SBC). Sundance’s EMC2 range is a...
Question of the Week
Will commercial supersonic planes become a viable way to travel?
This week's Question: NASA announced last week that it was resurrecting a supersonic aircraft called the Quiet SST (“QueSST”). The space agency believes that the traditional sonic boom can be mitigated into a soft thump, or “heartbeat.” Supersonic planes could potentially...
INSIDER: Test & Measurement
Researchers from TU Graz and the Wetsus research center in The Netherlands have produced electrically charged water by means of a floating water bridge. The electric charge of the "water battery"...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
In recent years, some of the most exciting advances in artificial intelligence have come courtesy of convolutional neural networks, large virtual networks of simple...
Question of the Week
Will driverless cars increase road reliance?
This week's Question: Autonomous vehicles have been touted as a way to combat roadway accidents and reduce energy expenditure and greenhouse gas emissions. A new study from University of Leeds, University of Washington, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, however, claims that the actual impact may be...
News: Medical
A team of Northwestern researchers has created a new way to print three-dimensional metallic objects using rust and metal powders.
Articles: Photonics/Optics
As the optical fiber and cable industry unfolded, several terms were coined to describe specific properties that were new and different from conventional wire processing....
Podcasts
Jim Heidmann, Project Manager for NASA’s Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, and Jason Welstead, Aerospace Engineer
Jim Heidmann of Glenn Research Center (Cleveland, OH) and Jason Welstead of Langley Research Center (Hampton, VA) have led NASA efforts to develop all-electric and hybrid-electric designs for large passenger aircraft....
Application Briefs: Imaging
Counterfeit parts and materials pose a serious threat to the United States defense supply chain. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012 (Section 818) laid out strict...
Products: Photonics/Optics
Cognex Corporation (Natick, MA) has introduced In-Sight® Micro 8000 series smart cameras. The Power over Ethernet In-Sight Micro 8000 series measures 31 × 31 × 63 mm. The minimizing of cabling supports integration into tight...
Products: Imaging
Using a half-size PCIe mini slot, the PIXCI® EB1miniH frame grabber from EPIX (Buffalo Grove, IL) can be mounted in an embedded computer chassis. Flexible cables run from the Base Camera Link connector. XCLIB and PXIPL...
Products: Photonics/Optics
ZEISS (Oberkochen, Germany) offers two new digital microscope cameras: ZEISS Axiocam 702 mono and ZEISS Axiocam 512 color. The ZEISS Axiocam 702 mono’s 1/1.2" (13.3-mm diagonal) sensor has a resolution of 2.3...
Products: Aerospace
Tecplot, Bellevue, WA, offers Tecplot 360 EX 2016 Release 1 data visualization and analysis software that features better support for polyhedral data, improved animation methods, and a new macro debugger....
Products: Software
ANSYS, Pittsburgh, PA, has introduced ANSYS SpaceClaim 2016 3D modeling software that enables users to create, edit, and repair geometry regardless of the underlying technology or where the original model came from. The release...
Products: Aerospace
The OMEGA® HHAQ-107 meter from Omega Engineering, Stamford, CT, measures mixed gas volatile organic compound (VOC) levels. It can detect ammonia, toluene, ethanol, hydrogen sulfide, and cigarette smoke in indoor air....
Products: Aerospace
Custom-engineered large-format battery packs for robotics and mobility product OEMs are available from Aved Electronics, North Billerica, MA. The battery packs provide clean voltage with a typical <10% deviation,...
Products: Aerospace
Helical Products Co., Santa Maria, CA, announced a new prototype cell for providing new prototype coupling, u-joint, and machined spring designs for test and evaluation. Customers from virtually any industry...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Autonomous Flight Termination System Reference Design Hardware
The current range ground-based infrastructure is extremely costly to operate and maintain. NASA has developed an Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) that is an independent, self-contained subsystem mounted onboard a launch vehicle. The AFTS reference system eliminates the...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
RoboSimian: Software Algorithms for a Mobile Manipulation Quadruped Robot
RoboSimian, a statically stable quadrupedal robot capable of both dexterous manipulation and versatile mobility in difficult terrain, was built to compete in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge, a competitive effort to develop hardware...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Rapid Forest Triage by Sub-Canopy Micro Air Vehicles
Today, tree distribution maps can only be generated manually in a very time-consuming process, and real-time microclimate mapping of a large 3D volume under tree canopy is not possible. A prototype small quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system was developed that is able to maneuver in...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
As robotic systems are expected to perform complex tasks, system developers require tools for application programming that are more advanced than the current state of the art....
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Insertable, Miniature, In-Vivo Surgical Robot with Embedded Control
This innovation is a miniature, in-vivo surgical robot that is able to be inserted into the peritoneal cavity under insufflation. It is designed to perform Laparoendoscopic Single-Site Surgery (LESS). This robotic device is capable of direct visualization of the surgical...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Multi-Spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System/Network-Based Navigation
Current deep spacecraft rely heavily on ground-based navigation and tracking for state measurement. The requirement for long ground navigation passes, coupled with analysis support, produces a large latency for updating a vehicle’s state. As the current infrastructure...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
CMOS-Compatible Ohmic Contact RF MEMS Switch
Radio frequency (RF) microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches have advantages over their solid-state counterparts. However, ohmic contact MEMS devices face several significant limitations, preventing entry into the mass market. These limitations are cost, reliability, packaging, and...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Heading Versus Tilt Chart for Assessing HGA Occlusion and Flop Risk in MSL Operations
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) high-gain antenna (HGA) sits low on the deck, leaving the sky occluded in many directions by other parts of the rover. Each drive must end with the rover at a heading where the Earth will be unoccluded during the next HGA...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Miller-Jogging for Synthesizer Lock Algorithm Extension
The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) has developed a wide range of CMOS (complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) phase lock loop (PLL) chips with self-healing/self-calibration capabilities, allowing them to adapt, on the fly, to changes in temperature and other environment...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The Integrated Solar Array and Reflectarray (ISARA) antenna requires a rugged circuit board material that will meet the following requirements: (1) remains sufficiently...
Top Stories
Videos: Manned Systems
Stratolaunch Approaches Hypersonic Speeds in First Talon-A Flight
Blog: Materials
3D Ice Printing Artificial Blood Vessels
Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics
A Hack to Trick Automotive Radar
Blog: Aerospace
Tesla Valve-Inspired Design Could Improve the Performance of Rotating...
Blog: Energy
Fast-Charging Li Battery Could Make ‘Range Anxiety’ a Thing of the Past
Podcasts: Defense
Countering Illegally Operated Drones at Airports, Stadiums, and Prisons
Question of the Week
Blog: Artificial Intelligence: Meet Human Intelligence
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: AR/AI
From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness
Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace
April Battery & Electrification Summit
Upcoming Webinars: Transportation
Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan